Driving mechanism for mowing-machines.



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A. PAGKER.` DRIVING MEUHANISM FOR MOWING MACHINES. uruoums'runn JULY 14, 190s.

963,638.v -Patentea Ju1y5,191o.

,A avventori l f 072x705' Pac'er Witwe/aon AMOS PACKER, OF DE WITT, MCHIGAN.

DRIVING MECHANISM FORv IIOWING-MACHINES.

y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 5, 1910.

Application led July 14, 1908. Serial N o. 443,558.

To all whomv it may concern.'

Be it known that I, AMos PAoKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at De Witt, in the county of Clinton and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Drivin Mechanism for Mowing-Machines, of W ich the following is a specification. i This invention relates generally to improvements in mowing machines, and particularly to means for driving the reciprocating cutter-bars thereof, the main object of the invention being to provide a driving mechanism which insures an easy uniform back and forth motion of the cutter-bar and prevents theracking, strain and irregularities of motion incident to the use of the ordinary pitman drive.

A further object of the invention is to provide a driving mechanism for the purpose described embodying a vibratory lever actuated by acam operatedl by suitable gearing and operating to impart a uniform motion to the lever at all oints of the back and forth strokes of the ever, and adapted to allow and impart easy reversal of motion of the lever at the ends of its strokes to prevent jars and back strain upon the gearing, and which is further adapted to compensate for the play of the lever" on its pivotal support when the cutter-bar is turned upright to an inoperative position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of buffers and bearing or wear plates for the lever, which plates-are readily adjustaloleto compensate for wear and maintain the lever in condition for movement in a true path.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described claimed, reference bein 'had to the accompanying drawings, in w ich -Figure l is atop plan view of a drive gearing embodyingmy invention, with the -top of theA gearcasmgremoved and a portion of the sleeve appearing in horizontal,

transverse section. Fig. 2 is a vertical lonofitudinal section ofthe same.v Fig.. 3 is a detail section online 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4.- is a detail vienr showin the universal joint connection between the lie and ver and connecting Fig; aise-'diagrammatic v'iew vof the cam showing the same as it would appear if flattened/out. Figs. 6 and 7 are bottom plan views .of the cam and coacting end of the lever, showing the opposite extremes of the cam rib and the positions of the lever at the ends of its strokes.

Referring to the drawing, designates the bearings for a counter-shaft 3. Fixed to the shaft 2 is a main drive gear 4 which meshes with a pinion 5 iixed on one end of the shaft 3, and upon Said shaft 3 within the casing is loosely mounted a gear Wheel 6 meshing with a pinion 7 carried by a cam drum or wheel 8 loose on the shaft 2 within the cas-' ing, whereby the cam is driven in a uniform manner from said shaft.

The pinion 5 carries a clutch collar 5a adapted to be engaged by pins 6a 0n a clutch collar 6b feathered to slide upon and rotate With the shaft 3. The collar 6b is annularly grooved to: receive the forked portion of any preferred type' of shifting lever or device mounted on the casing or on the frame of the machine. The pins-6a slide through transverse openings 6c in the ear 6 and are adapted, by the reversev sli ing movements of the collar 6b, to beengaged with and disengaged from the teeth of the collar 5a, whereby the gear 6 may be made Afast or loose to throw the cutter-bar driving mechanism` into or out of operation.

From the forward portion of the caslng extends an arm or sleeve 9 having a longitudinal passage 10 communicating at its rear end with the casing, which passage ispirarrowest at a point inwardly of the central transverse line thereof, and thence ares in opposite directions toward its ends, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Extending vertically lthrough the narrow portion of the passage l0 is a .bolt orf pin l1 on which is pivotally mounteda vibrating lever 12 pivoted somewhat rearwardly of its transverse center to yprovide long and short arms 13` and 14. The inner or short arm 13 of the lever 'extends into the casing beneath the cam drum or wheel 8 and is bifurcated to form a centralslot and 'foppo-j4 sitely disposed parallel arms or extensions' 15 coupled at their free ends by an adj ustin bolt 16. The extensions 15 are provide with curved or rounded bosses or contact heads 17 to engage the acting surface of the by in the rotation of the Vdrum through the described gearing the lever will be osc1l.

lated on its pivotal connection 11.`4l The angles or points 17a and 17b of the cam rib contact, respectively, with the heads 17 when V the lever .is at the limit of its forward and return strokes, while the central portions 17 and 17d of the rib contact with the heads in its respective strokes,4 the portions -17c and 17d of the rib between the points `17 and 17b on eachside of the c'am being of spiral formation, so as to impart a proper degree of oscillatory movement to the lever.

The rib tapers gradually on one side of the cam from the point 17a to the point 17", and on the reverse side of the cam from thel point 17 b to the point 17 a.' By this construc-J tion provision is made, as clearly shown 1n Figs. 6v and 7, for a proper relative movement of the two heads 17 in shifting through their relatively -dilferent degrees of vmovementfromvonespiral rib portion to another at the limits of the strokes of the lever, to prevent the heads -frorngh'aving any binding or undue wearing action onthe rib, aswell as to adapt the heads termorefeasly around the points of the cam infreverfsing-the direceverpabrupt reverse movement QA; the end ofeither `stroke-,will u p as well as alll lost motiomvgwhereby the racking and. straining pf,;;the.-ygearing proT duced by :the :abruptness or-5irregularitieszl of motion in -the use ,ofmfthewordinary pit-c man, gearing or grooved cam LAgearing will be avoided. yThe `construction described also insures, in c'onnectionwithethe means for guiding the lever'in its movements,` hereinafter described, a conversion of ro'-, taryA into rectilinear motion' without ver-- tical play or strain uponthe-leventhe 'latter being accordingly osciilatedin a ytrue horii zontal plane.

Thelong arm 14` of the lever projects bei yond the' outer endof the sleeve fand termi-,-

nates in a reducedcylindrical portion 19 having a reduced threaded extension-20.` On the extension 19 is loosely fitted a cellar 21- carrying. pivot pins 22v at diametrically opiY posite sldes thereof, said pins carrying fre-v taining washers 22secured thereon by cotter-A pins 23. These pins pass through'theaper-;v` tured ends of a yoke 24 carried byy the innen end of a connecting rod 25 which4 transfers;-

shown. The collar permits the connecting rod to have vertical movement, while the pivot pins permitsaidA rod to have Swingin movement 1n a direction longitudinally o the machine, thus' providing a universal joint connection which adapts the rod to compensate for the arc of movement of the lever transmitting direct `recprocatory motion to the cutter bar.'

. In operation of the device, it will be understood that through the trainy of gears/motion will be transmitted from the axleA to the countershaft and thence to the cam, and that inthe rotation of the latter the operat- Am'otiorffrorr1i the v'lever t the cutter bar,-`;noi'.y

ing lever will 'be vibrated or oscillated back l and forth and will transfer reciprocatoryl .motion through the rod 25 to the cutter1bar, when the lever is at the intermediate point.-l

and'rowing tothe peculiar construction' of the cam and contact heads an easy anduniform motionwill betransmitted to the lever to operate the cutter bar without the strainv vandv jerking.` motion produced byf'the driving mechanisms heretofore used.' As wear on vthe heads andrib.4 occurs this maybe compensated for byl tightening the nut on the adjusting bolt 16to draw the heads closer vwhen the lever reaches the endof the' strokes an ordinary `grooved cam results in considerable strain being thrown upon the `gearing and is about to be reversed for thereturn This f is .compenthe described mode of tapering the.V cain rib and rounding the heads which insures an easy reversal ofy motion` of the lever and prescribe their different arcs around the point,l

I andas the cam turns, the angle of the workling surface of the rib with relation to the .heads varies and it is necessary to compensate forthis constantly changing angular relation. 4The'taper of the-portions 17'and v171-of the ribs to the oints 17 a and 17hV per- )mits 'of this change, t e heads varying their -point ofbearing y,and angle to conformto the surfaces ofthe rib as thecamrevolves sothatthey will always ,perfectly-adjust themselves to lthe cam, maki-ng'.theop'era-V tion veasy and with littleL-ifriction atV all .,.points' The construction fthereferefprovides f.

for aneas'y `operation of the` lever'and' cutter stroke, owing to v:the resistance of the lever in reversing its motion. ysated for in my improved construction by fthe lever willbe lpracticallyin line with the working portion of the rb, the heads deiban at allpoints in the movementst thereof, e* {and} it= will Vbe observed that l theoppositely eeaeee flaring formation of the chamber y10 permits free movement of the lever 12 and prevents binding thereof.

The cam rib 18 rojects into the slot between the extremities of the lever, and, in order to eectively support the bifurcated part of the lever, a bearing plate 26 is disposed transversely beneath the extremities and heads and is adjustably secured to the bottom of the casing by set screws 27,where by it may be moved upward to compensate for wear as occasion requires. At the outer end of the sleeve are also upper and lower bearing plates 28 and 29 adjustable respec tively by set screws 30 and 31 mounted upon the top -and bottom walls of the sleeves. The upper plate 28 extends fully across the sleeve and rests at its ends upon cushioned buifer blocks 32 fitted in recesses 3 in the side walls of the sleeve, said blocks yieldingly supporting said upper plate. The

lower plate 29 is of a length corresponding ap roximately to the distance between the buer blocks, and both plates may be adjusted by the screws to bea-r easily upon the u per end and lower surfaces of the arm 14: of3 the lever to prevent vertical play thereof and insure oscillatory motion of said arm in a straight path. The function of the blocks 32 is to cushion the arm 14 at the ends of its stroke, thus adding to the ease of operation thereof. The outer end of the sleeve is provided with a guard 33 to protect the cou led ends of the lever and connecting rod rom injury.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that my invention provides a cutter ,v driving. mechanism which does away with the usual lost motion, reduces the draft and increases thepower and positiveness of action ofthe mechanism, and which also eliminates to a large extent the wear and tear` caused by the jerks and jars of the ordinary l pitman mechanism at the shoe coupling. Another advantage gained by the use of my improved cam mechanism is that upon releasing the clutch and freeing the gear 6 the lever may be allowed to vibrate when the cutter bar is turned up to an inoperative position under the pressure thrown thereon, since the pressure of the heads 17 on the cam 18 will effect a slight backward revolution thereof, thus 'allowingthe lever to accommodate itself to the movement of the cutter bar as it is swung upward, insuring an easy movement thereof and a reduction of'strain on the gearing.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new is In a driving mechanism for the cutting knives of mowers, the combination of a casing having a sleeve extending therefrom, a cam mounted within the casing, means for operating the cam, an oscillatory lever extending through the sleeve and projecting at one end'intothe casing and at its opposite end beyond the sleeve,-the rst named end bein adapted to be operated by the cam to oscil ate said lever, an adjustable bearing plate upon the casing beneath the inner end -of the lever and holdin the same in engagement with the cam, bu ers at the outer end 'of the sleeve adapted to be engagedl by the lever atthe extremes of its strokes, and upper and .lower adjustable bearing pieces upon the sleeve engaging the adjacent surfaces of the lever and disposed between said buffers.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' AMOS PACKER.

Witnesses: v

FLORENCE Croon, C. C. Hines. 

